Fabiano Caruana climbs chess rankings after London Classic draw epidemic
The US No1 rose to second in the world behind Magnus Carlsen with wins in round four and five and Caruana now looks set to do well in the 2018 candidates
The US No1, Fabiano Caruana, won in rounds four and five, established a clear one point lead going into this weekend’s closing rounds, jumped to No2 in the rankings behind the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, and now looks a potential winner of the 2018 candidates event which will decide Carlsen’s next challenger.
Many elite grandmasters reckon that a loss in a short nine-round contest will put them out of the running. They therefore adopt a cautious style, especially with the black pieces. Even Carlsen was affected with the general malaise, and failed to clinch his favourable positions against the Americans Caruana and Wesley So. The Norwegian dominated all his recent rapid and blitz tournaments, and this may have taken the edge off his classical game.
Wijk aan Zee, the world’s most respected annual tournament, rarely has dull days for spectators. It is longer,than London,13 rounds, and there is a wider range of abilities. Gawain Jones, the 29-year-old British champion, qualified from the last B group for Wijk 2018, but is the lowest ranked invitee to the top section so will be a must-win opponent for Carlsen and Caruana.
The Classic could solve its draw problem if it became like the Hastings Premier in the 1930s, which included the legends Alexander Alekhine and José Raúl Capablanca but also rising talents and British players. London 2017 is part of the four-event Grand Tour, but the Tour has lost some credibility since Norway’s Stavanger event withdrew and was replaced by the Paris and Brussels speed events.
Caruana’s win against Sergey Karjakin was down to his deep opening prep. His sharp Taimanov Sicilian came with the bomb 15...Bc6! where Rc8 is normal. Karjakin avoided 16 Nxa6 as Qc8 17 Nac5 d6! gives good play, but next turn he should have preferred 17 exf6 gxf6 18 h3 Qxf4+ 19 Qxf4 Nxf4 20 Re1 with compensation for a pawn. As the game went, 22…Ng6! gave Black a fine position due to his central, pawn bloc, his d5 bishop and later his f3 knight. White’s game collapsed when 35…Qa5! forced off queens, and 42…Rg5! (43 Bxg5 f2) was a neat finish.
Sergey Karjakin v Fabiano Caruana
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6 5 Nc3 Qc7 6 Be3 a6 7 Qf3 Ne5 8 Qg3 b5 9 O-O-O Nf6 10 f4 Neg4 11 Bg1 h5 12 e5 b4 13 Na4 Nd5 14 Nb3 Bb7 15 Nac5 Bc6! 16 Ne4 f5 17h3? h4 18 Qe1 fxe4 19 hxg4 Nxf4 20 Rxh4 Rxh4 21 Qxh4 Qxe5 22 Bd4 Ng6! 23 Qh3 Qg5+ 24 Kb1 Bd5 25 Bg1 Be7 26 g3 Ne5 27Be2 Nf3! 28 Bxf3 exf3 29 Bd4 Kf7 30 Nc1 d6 31 Nd3 e5 32 Bf2 Be6 33 Nxb4 e4 34 Qh1 Rc8 35 Nxa6 Qa5! 36 Qh5+ Qxh5 37 gxh5 Bg5 38 Re1 Bc4 39 Nb4 Re8 40 Re3 Bxe3 41Bxe3 Re5 42 g4 Rg5! 0-1
3524 1...Bf2! and if 2 Kxf2 Rxh2+ 3 Kg1 Qxg3 mate or 2 Rxe7 Rxh2+! 3 Kxh2 Qxg3+ 4 Kh1 Qh3 mate or 2 Rxf2 Rxe1 wins
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